Graduate Studio: Technology A [Class Notebook] (DES-720A-02)

Coding Assignment 3

This assignment is part 3 of project Creative Cryptography.

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Due: Sep 15, 2026

Continue developing the coding system you began last week. Add rules that translate qualities from your source material into visual, spatial, or material decisions. Your system should no longer vary in every possible direction; it should make choices within limits that you define. Use conditionals to decide when something changes, and transformations to build complex compositions from simple parts.

• Use at least two conditional structures with if, else if, or else to decide when and how something changes.
• Use randomness intentionally. Decide which values may vary, what range they can occupy, and which relationships must remain stable.
• Use at least two transformations or grouping techniques, such as push(), pop(), translate(), or rotate().
• Generate and save at least five distinct outcomes from the same system.
• Document the rules behind your system in plain language. Explain what each rule translates, what it reveals or hides, and how it keeps the outcomes related.
  
  As you work, ask yourself: When does variation strengthen the meaning of your system, and when does it become arbitrary? Which constraints make the system more expressive? What must remain consistent for someone to recognize that the outcomes belong to the same language?
  
  Bring your sketch, five printed outcomes, rule set, and process documentation to class next week. We will pin them up on the wall for discussion.
  
  Begin thinking about which outcomes could become physical and how scale, material, or fabrication might change the way the encoded message is read.

Examples

• 004 — If Statements
• 005 — Switch
• 006 — Conditional + Random
• 007 — Grouping
• 008 — Transform
• Misc — Gradient
• Misc — Transparency
• Misc — Texture
• Misc — loadFont()

Readings

Watch Zach Lieberman’s episode on Figma Source Material, we will discuss it next week.

Other optional readings for thinking about conditional design and transformation:

• On Meta-Design and Algorithmic Design Systems
• Conditional Design Manifesto
• Sol LeWitt — Sentences on Conceptual Art

Tutorials & Resources

• p5.js Reference — Conditionals
• Introduction to Conditional Statements — The Coding Train
• If, Else, Else If — Xin Xin
• IF / ELSE Example: Make a Drawing Machine — Xin Xin
• How to Rotate Shapes in p5.js — The Coding Train
• Pastel Gradient Screensaver — Patt Vira